Fragrant Homemade Orange Potpourri Simmering On The Stove Top

One of the things my mother taught me was that a pleasant smelling, clean home is welcoming. Yesterday when I made The Best Baked Bean Casserole Ever, I had to peel a couple oranges. What did I do with the orange skins? I made potpourri!!

After smelling the baked beans for hours and then enjoying a large bowl of them for dinner, my home needed to be freshened up a bit with a lighter, cleaner fragrance.

What Is Potpourri?

Potpourri is variety of fresh or dried flower petals, leaves, cones, seeds, and spices mixed together and used to make a room, cabinet, closet or drawer smell pleasant.

Whether the potpourri is kept in an open decorative arrangement, simmering on the stove top, or in sachets, it can either stimulate or soothe your senses.

Soothing Fragrances For Potpourri

Stressed? Can’t sleep? Have insomnia? Try making a batch of potpourri using some of the following fragrances to relieve stress and promote relaxation and sleepiness:

• Lavender – small purple flowering plants in the mint family.
• Sandalwood – wood from trees that are yellow and fine-grained; they retain their fragrance for decades.
• Vanilla – derived from yellow, cream or white orchids that bloom on a climbing vine.
• Rose – a woody perennial flower with over 100 species and thousands of cultivars; vary in a wide range of sizes, shapes and colors.
• Chamomile– a daisy-like flowering plant.
• Bergamot orange– a fruit the size of an orange, but is yellow in color like a lemon.
• Cucumber– the gourd family plant that grows on a creeping vine that produces a seedless fruit that is usually prepared to be eaten as a vegetable.
• Jasmine– erect, spreading, or climbing shrubs and vines that produce small white or yellow flowers.

Were you looking for “orange” in that list since the title indicated that I made orange potpourri? Well, I didn’t want to promote sleep! Most days I need no help at all to fall asleep or stay asleep.

Fragrant Homemade Orange Potpourri Recipe

The emotions that I wanted to promote was a more welcoming, healthy, energetic and happy to be alive feeling. So this is what I used:

• Orange – boosts energy, alertness, and confidence; dissipates anger, fear and depression
• Clove – stimulates the brain, boosts attentiveness and energy
• Cinnamon – stimulates the brain to improve visual-motor response, memory and attention span

By simmering potpourri on the stove all day, not only do you add a wonderful fragrance to you home, but also humidity especially during extended uses of the air conditioner or heater.

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan.

Add the orange peels.

Add the whole cloves.

Not only am I being “green” by using all the left over peels from food that I eat, but I’m also creating a nice environment in my home.

Add dried cinnamon.

Allow the ingredients to boil for 5 minutes and then turn the heat down to simmer. Every 30 minutes to an hour add more water.

Ingredients:

Peels from 2 oranges, cut into pieces or left whole
10 Cloves, whole
2 tablespoons dried cinnamon
1-2 quarts of water

Directions:

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add ingredients, boil for 5 minutes and then turn the heat down to simmer. Every 30 minutes to an hour add more water.

BIG TIP — Don’t forget the pot on the stove and let all the water boil down! If you don’t want to rely on your memory, set an alarm to go off every 30 minutes.